From ideas to process-projects
Europan 15 - Saint-Omer (FR)
« Hydro-Productive Parks »
Project strategy family:
- Ecological connections
- Inclusive morphologies
- Inventive typologies
- Reinterpreted heritage
- Urban articulations
Process category:
- Direct order processes
- Competitive processes
- Co-creative processes
- Collaborative processes
- Participative processes
- Participation of the Living processes
- Adaptative legal framework processes
Authors: Atelier Iris Chervet
Client(s): Saint-Omer Agglomeration Community, AUD Saint-Omer – Inland Flanders
Dates: 2019-2022
Driving forces: Team
Site
Saint-Omer (FR)
SCALES XL/L SIZE 1007ha / 84ha
On marshy soils, what connections and productive interfaces can be created around the notion of productive water (water and tourism, agriculture, industry, innovation, recreation, sports, etc.): marshland / city interface, sports facilities / educational facilities, Arques city centre / marshlands, Arques city centre /train station area?
The reclassification of unused and existing or future abandoned sites needs to be reconsidered and set in motion in order to favour urban diversity, create continuity and urban and natural connections that are in harmony with these districts.
Awarded Idea
Project - Ideas
Hydro-Productive Parks
TWO PRODUCTIVE PARKS
The exploration of the link between geology and industry allows to anchor the project into the productive bioregion. Rising waters by 2100 will favour Saint-Omer as a destination of the retro-littoral fold.
Two productive parks appear along the canal and Vauban boulevard, creating “capable landscapes”, which will welcome an interlocal synergy network and a structure of densification. The hydraulic park foreshadows flood with an evolutive landscape, while soil transparency leads to urbanization. The chalky park reveals traces of a landscape Archaeology and deploys geothermics as a lever of urban renovation.
Project Strategy
Family: Ecological connections
TO RECONNECT WITH FERTILE AND PRODUCTIVE WATER
• An urban study on the station district (delivered in April 2022). Ambitious study on the fight against urban heat blocks, and integrated into the European program COOL TOWNS.
The redevelopment of the former Cour Fret site is part of an urban renewal project centred around the Neufossé canal. Its location between the city centre and the marsh is ideal for initiating a renewed relationship between the city and the water, thus launching a first phase in line with the territorial strategies developed during the Europan competition.
The interface between the canal and the railway raises questions about the possibility of leveraging these infrastructures as structuring landscapes and catalysts for specific programs. The aim is to design a productive and resilient neighbourhood where the functions of "living," "working," and "manufacturing" are interconnected and complementary. It is also an opportunity to design a bioclimatic district that addresses the challenges of urban heat islands and, more broadly, resilience in the face of climate change.
• A study on the dewatering of public spaces in the city centre (delivered in June 2022), which covered 4 pilot sites. One of these sites is the Laennec car park in front of the Maison du Marais, which was part of the Europan competition sites.
The objective of this second study is the reintegration of the water cycle into the old, dense, and mineral-rich city: Replenishing the water table, preventing flooding, increasing biodiversity, and providing cooling during heat waves... all to reconnect the urban fabric within the neighbourhoods. The goal is not simply to make water visible, but to make it active within a broader, more holistic restoration process.
Process
Category(ies): Competitive processes, Co-creative processes, Adaptative legal framework processes
Competitive processes
The city launched an open call for tenders for two studies: an urban study on the station district and a study on the de-impermeabilisation of public spaces in the city centre, which was won by the winning team, Atelier Iris Chervet..
Co-creative processes
CO-CREATIVE PROCESS + COLLABORATIVE PROCESS
Following the competition, a seminar on water was organised, together with a workshop with various local stakeholders, bringing together the 2 Europan rewarded teams.
Adaptative legal framework processes
The study focusing on the station proposes ways to combat urban heat islands, while the one focusing on public spaces takes into account the ground and water circulation in the city.
